iPad2 was March 2011, so conventional Apple rumor logic has the iPad3 coming in sometime around March 2012 because they doubt they'd cut iPad 2 out before at least a year of release... but that is all just rumor. It could be March, it could be later.

If Apple were smart. They would release the iPad 3 BEFORE the holiday buying period not three months later. That way more people will buy then for gifts.

I see what you're saying but he price is the same, and they'll still sell a zillion iPad 2's to people who don't know any better... then people will still go crazy for the iPad 3, and then everyone will still be buying them next year. Also, less chance for product shortages this way.

iPads replaced with clay, sold to unsuspecting Canadians By James Trew posted Jan 18th 2012 at 9:47PM

That fuzzy sensation we get when unboxing a new toy gadget is the fuel that keeps us going at Engadget. A feeling a few unlucky Canadian's were deprived of, after buying what they believed to be an iPad 2 actually turned out to be a slab of clay. In a calculated scam, crooks purchased real iPads, replaced them with terra-cotta tablets, then returned them to the store in re-sealed boxes. The fakes then found their way back on to the shelves, and into customer's baskets. It was Mark Sandhu who first reported the incident after gifting his wife something a little too slate-like on Christmas Eve. Initially Future Shop wouldn't refund Sandhu, possibly believing him to be the scammer; it was only after taking the story to CTV, and up to ten other cases coming to light -- including some from Best Buy -- that the retailer took the claim seriously. Future Shop has since issued a refund, and given Mark a real iPad 2 for his troubles. Next time, he might want to try an official retailer -- or not.